Bielby and Murer interview John Tsukayama whose doctoral dissertation—‘By Any Means Necessary: An... more Bielby and Murer interview John Tsukayama whose doctoral dissertation—‘By Any Means Necessary: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Study of Post 9/11 American Abusive Violence in Iraq’—involved interviewing fourteen former U.S. military and intelligence personnel who witnessed, objected to, or participated in the abuse and torture of detainees during the Iraq War (2003–2012). With Bielby and Murer, Tsukayama reflects on his experiences, including his motivations for the project, his reasons for conducting the interviews as he did, the reflections of his interviewees with regard to their at times violent pasts, and the ethics and emotional toll of conducting work such as this. Tsukayama is Special Instructor in the Political Science Department at the Brigham Young University Hawaii.
The Polish Quarterly of International Affairs, Apr 1, 2015
The West is doing it to us again," a middle-aged man in the middle of a crowd told me. "It's just... more The West is doing it to us again," a middle-aged man in the middle of a crowd told me. "It's just the same as after the First World War; it's just the same as after 1989. The West is trying to keep Hungary down." The man wanted to make sure that I understood, and so he showed me one of the maps he was selling. It was a map of the Kingdom of Hungary, as it was constituted before and during the First World War, all around were the crests of the 64 historic counties of Hungary, and at the bottom were the words from Ferenc Erkel's 1861 aria My Homeland, you mean everything to me (Hazám, Hazám, Te Mindenem!). 1 "This is what we lost," he said to me. In the same crowd, men wore t-shirts depicting the Kingdom of Hungary ripped apart by sinister, skeletal-like hands. The speaker on the stage began to speak of how the banks pay low taxes, but make big profits, and of "Bank terror" (bank rémület). Some in the crowd chanted: "Our home is not for sale!" (A haza nem eladó), meaning both their literal homes but also referring to the whole of the Hungary. The speaker said that her political party, Jobbik, would not let "the banks colonise Hungary," to which the group of young skinheads next to me responded: "It's the Jews! It's the f*cking Jews! Stop the Jews!" 2 Unfortunately, in contemporary Hungary, anti-Semitism remains a very public part of the political landscape. Likewise, anti-Roma sentiments, even violence, also characterise the current political climate; in both cases these expressions of antagonistic politics are tied to the widely held political belief 1 The aria is from the 1861 Erkel opera Bánk Bán, in which the protagonist named Bánk has the title Bán, which is the equivalent of a viceroy or a duke.
Bielby and Murer interview Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms & Artillery, and Lisa Trayno... more Bielby and Murer interview Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms & Artillery, and Lisa Traynor, Curator of Firearms, of the Royal Armouries Museum (Leeds site), the UK’s national museum of arms and armour. The museum’s collection began in the sixteenth century, was originally housed exclusively at the Tower of London, but today is also displayed and housed at Fort Nelson near Portsmouth and at the purpose-built museum and National Firearms Centre, both in Leeds. With Bielby and Murer, Ferguson and Traynor reflect on the identity of the museum and the challenges it faces as a museum dedicated to the objects associated with the perpetration of violence, as well as the tensions of its declared purpose: ‘to excite and educate the public in the history of arms and armour.’
Bielby and Murer interview Steve Pratt, former SAS soldier. After returning from his final tour, ... more Bielby and Murer interview Steve Pratt, former SAS soldier. After returning from his final tour, Pratt encountered what he describes as ‘a kind of mental health break-down’ in which he experienced fantasies of violent perpetration. While he did not enact any of these, Pratt left the army wrestling with their implications and thoughts of how the army had affected his development as a person. One of his means of exploring his personal transformation has been through the creation and performance of the one-man theatre piece: The Making of a Dangerous Individual. Pratt is now an art psychotherapist and artist in the UK who works with vulnerable populations, including veterans serving custodial sentences. Pratt reflects on these experiences with Bielby and Murer.
This chapter explores the phenomenon of political violence in its many forms. It focuses on disti... more This chapter explores the phenomenon of political violence in its many forms. It focuses on distinctions among physical, structural or cultural, and symbolic violence, rather than focusing on more traditional forms of political violence, such as riots and assassinations. Thus the chapter analyzes the role of violence at the core of the modern nation-state, especially through discussing Walter Benjamin’s distinction between law-preserving and law-making violence. The chapter concludes that political violence is often at its worst, most intense, and most widespread when trust in political institutions falters and significant portions of a given polity no longer find these institutions credible or legitimate. Conversely, political violence can be minimized through the construction of strong, inclusive, and vibrant political institutions based on principles of inclusion and procedural justice, qualities Johan Galtung saw as the foundations for positive peace.
ISBN 1781-9210 Bartoszewicz, M.G (2014). Europesebekeerlingen tot de islam: risico op radicaliser... more ISBN 1781-9210 Bartoszewicz, M.G (2014). Europesebekeerlingen tot de islam: risico op radicalisering? (European Converts to Islam: Risk of Radicalisation?), Orde van de Dag, 2013/62.
Bielby and Murer set out the main themes of the volume, as well as introducing the reader to the ... more Bielby and Murer set out the main themes of the volume, as well as introducing the reader to the volume’s structure and 12 contributions. The introduction opens with a brief close reading of the volume’s cover image by artist and art psychotherapist Steve Pratt, ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ (2009). Bielby and Murer use that to launch themselves into a discussion of the contingency and contested nature of the category of ‘the perpetrator,’ the importance of understanding perpetration as a form of ‘doing,’ the book’s poststructuralist approach to self and the importance of gender to ideas around perpetration and violence. They then provide an overview of each chapter and interview in turn.
In this chapter, I suggest that the rhetoric of the Hungarian far right largely resembles what Va... more In this chapter, I suggest that the rhetoric of the Hungarian far right largely resembles what Vamik Volkan has called Established Pathological Mourning. In such circumstances, mourning becomes extended, whereby an individual – or in the present case, a collective – cannot adaptively work through the loss of a loved object. Mourning rituals are extended, whereby the repetition of mourning is an attempt to ‘keep alive’ the lost object. Rather than being a recognition of loss, these complicated mourning rituals forestall the work of living on without the lost object. I suggest that, similar to the re-grief therapy that Volkan promotes, collective cultural mourning may offer an adaptive way forward in working through the issues of loss and control for a larger segment of a society.
International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 2020
Much of criminological scholarship on street gangs focuses on the deviant and delinquent aspects ... more Much of criminological scholarship on street gangs focuses on the deviant and delinquent aspects of gang violence. Although the research tradition acknowledges that violence is central to the life in a gang, it often labels this form of violence as an “anti-social” behaviour. This article challenges this conceptualisation of gang violence and proposes instead that gang violence is a social performance. By using the example of gang initiation rites, this article suggests that violence in such rites possesses a socio-symbolic and performative function that informs about the social status of gang members. This article draws on Jeffrey Stevenson Murer’s theory of the performative and communicative function of violence as well as on Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of social field, habitus and social capital in order to demonstrate that violence during gang initiation rites is an inherently social act that reinforces and strengthens the social ties and bonds among the members of a gang. The ai...
<p>AUDIT scores and baseline alcohol unit consumption for participants who completed the st... more <p>AUDIT scores and baseline alcohol unit consumption for participants who completed the study, for those who were lost to follow-up [<i>M</i>(<i>SD</i>)].</p
Background Scotland needs to tackle its drinking problem. Excessive alcohol consumption places a ... more Background Scotland needs to tackle its drinking problem. Excessive alcohol consumption places a significant burden on Scottish society (Scottish Government, 2010): alcohol-related deaths have risen over 100% since 1990 (Scottish Government, 2009) and 45% of prisoners admitted to being drunk at the time of their offence (SPS, 2007). Recently, the use of transdermal alcohol monitoring anklets in the USA successfully reduced alcohol consumption among those convicted of DUI (AMS, 2012). However, there is little robust research examining how this technology curbs drinking, or the experience of wearing an anklet. Methods A mixed-methods experimental approach was employed to investigate patterns of alcohol consumption and experiences of monitoring over a 2-week period. Data collection methods included: transdermal alcohol monitoring, questionnaires, reflective diaries, and focus groups. A convenience sample of 60 Scottish university students self-identifying as heavy drinkers was randomly...
Bielby and Murer interview John Tsukayama whose doctoral dissertation—‘By Any Means Necessary: An... more Bielby and Murer interview John Tsukayama whose doctoral dissertation—‘By Any Means Necessary: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Study of Post 9/11 American Abusive Violence in Iraq’—involved interviewing fourteen former U.S. military and intelligence personnel who witnessed, objected to, or participated in the abuse and torture of detainees during the Iraq War (2003–2012). With Bielby and Murer, Tsukayama reflects on his experiences, including his motivations for the project, his reasons for conducting the interviews as he did, the reflections of his interviewees with regard to their at times violent pasts, and the ethics and emotional toll of conducting work such as this. Tsukayama is Special Instructor in the Political Science Department at the Brigham Young University Hawaii.
The Polish Quarterly of International Affairs, Apr 1, 2015
The West is doing it to us again," a middle-aged man in the middle of a crowd told me. "It's just... more The West is doing it to us again," a middle-aged man in the middle of a crowd told me. "It's just the same as after the First World War; it's just the same as after 1989. The West is trying to keep Hungary down." The man wanted to make sure that I understood, and so he showed me one of the maps he was selling. It was a map of the Kingdom of Hungary, as it was constituted before and during the First World War, all around were the crests of the 64 historic counties of Hungary, and at the bottom were the words from Ferenc Erkel's 1861 aria My Homeland, you mean everything to me (Hazám, Hazám, Te Mindenem!). 1 "This is what we lost," he said to me. In the same crowd, men wore t-shirts depicting the Kingdom of Hungary ripped apart by sinister, skeletal-like hands. The speaker on the stage began to speak of how the banks pay low taxes, but make big profits, and of "Bank terror" (bank rémület). Some in the crowd chanted: "Our home is not for sale!" (A haza nem eladó), meaning both their literal homes but also referring to the whole of the Hungary. The speaker said that her political party, Jobbik, would not let "the banks colonise Hungary," to which the group of young skinheads next to me responded: "It's the Jews! It's the f*cking Jews! Stop the Jews!" 2 Unfortunately, in contemporary Hungary, anti-Semitism remains a very public part of the political landscape. Likewise, anti-Roma sentiments, even violence, also characterise the current political climate; in both cases these expressions of antagonistic politics are tied to the widely held political belief 1 The aria is from the 1861 Erkel opera Bánk Bán, in which the protagonist named Bánk has the title Bán, which is the equivalent of a viceroy or a duke.
Bielby and Murer interview Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms & Artillery, and Lisa Trayno... more Bielby and Murer interview Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms & Artillery, and Lisa Traynor, Curator of Firearms, of the Royal Armouries Museum (Leeds site), the UK’s national museum of arms and armour. The museum’s collection began in the sixteenth century, was originally housed exclusively at the Tower of London, but today is also displayed and housed at Fort Nelson near Portsmouth and at the purpose-built museum and National Firearms Centre, both in Leeds. With Bielby and Murer, Ferguson and Traynor reflect on the identity of the museum and the challenges it faces as a museum dedicated to the objects associated with the perpetration of violence, as well as the tensions of its declared purpose: ‘to excite and educate the public in the history of arms and armour.’
Bielby and Murer interview Steve Pratt, former SAS soldier. After returning from his final tour, ... more Bielby and Murer interview Steve Pratt, former SAS soldier. After returning from his final tour, Pratt encountered what he describes as ‘a kind of mental health break-down’ in which he experienced fantasies of violent perpetration. While he did not enact any of these, Pratt left the army wrestling with their implications and thoughts of how the army had affected his development as a person. One of his means of exploring his personal transformation has been through the creation and performance of the one-man theatre piece: The Making of a Dangerous Individual. Pratt is now an art psychotherapist and artist in the UK who works with vulnerable populations, including veterans serving custodial sentences. Pratt reflects on these experiences with Bielby and Murer.
This chapter explores the phenomenon of political violence in its many forms. It focuses on disti... more This chapter explores the phenomenon of political violence in its many forms. It focuses on distinctions among physical, structural or cultural, and symbolic violence, rather than focusing on more traditional forms of political violence, such as riots and assassinations. Thus the chapter analyzes the role of violence at the core of the modern nation-state, especially through discussing Walter Benjamin’s distinction between law-preserving and law-making violence. The chapter concludes that political violence is often at its worst, most intense, and most widespread when trust in political institutions falters and significant portions of a given polity no longer find these institutions credible or legitimate. Conversely, political violence can be minimized through the construction of strong, inclusive, and vibrant political institutions based on principles of inclusion and procedural justice, qualities Johan Galtung saw as the foundations for positive peace.
ISBN 1781-9210 Bartoszewicz, M.G (2014). Europesebekeerlingen tot de islam: risico op radicaliser... more ISBN 1781-9210 Bartoszewicz, M.G (2014). Europesebekeerlingen tot de islam: risico op radicalisering? (European Converts to Islam: Risk of Radicalisation?), Orde van de Dag, 2013/62.
Bielby and Murer set out the main themes of the volume, as well as introducing the reader to the ... more Bielby and Murer set out the main themes of the volume, as well as introducing the reader to the volume’s structure and 12 contributions. The introduction opens with a brief close reading of the volume’s cover image by artist and art psychotherapist Steve Pratt, ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ (2009). Bielby and Murer use that to launch themselves into a discussion of the contingency and contested nature of the category of ‘the perpetrator,’ the importance of understanding perpetration as a form of ‘doing,’ the book’s poststructuralist approach to self and the importance of gender to ideas around perpetration and violence. They then provide an overview of each chapter and interview in turn.
In this chapter, I suggest that the rhetoric of the Hungarian far right largely resembles what Va... more In this chapter, I suggest that the rhetoric of the Hungarian far right largely resembles what Vamik Volkan has called Established Pathological Mourning. In such circumstances, mourning becomes extended, whereby an individual – or in the present case, a collective – cannot adaptively work through the loss of a loved object. Mourning rituals are extended, whereby the repetition of mourning is an attempt to ‘keep alive’ the lost object. Rather than being a recognition of loss, these complicated mourning rituals forestall the work of living on without the lost object. I suggest that, similar to the re-grief therapy that Volkan promotes, collective cultural mourning may offer an adaptive way forward in working through the issues of loss and control for a larger segment of a society.
International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 2020
Much of criminological scholarship on street gangs focuses on the deviant and delinquent aspects ... more Much of criminological scholarship on street gangs focuses on the deviant and delinquent aspects of gang violence. Although the research tradition acknowledges that violence is central to the life in a gang, it often labels this form of violence as an “anti-social” behaviour. This article challenges this conceptualisation of gang violence and proposes instead that gang violence is a social performance. By using the example of gang initiation rites, this article suggests that violence in such rites possesses a socio-symbolic and performative function that informs about the social status of gang members. This article draws on Jeffrey Stevenson Murer’s theory of the performative and communicative function of violence as well as on Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of social field, habitus and social capital in order to demonstrate that violence during gang initiation rites is an inherently social act that reinforces and strengthens the social ties and bonds among the members of a gang. The ai...
<p>AUDIT scores and baseline alcohol unit consumption for participants who completed the st... more <p>AUDIT scores and baseline alcohol unit consumption for participants who completed the study, for those who were lost to follow-up [<i>M</i>(<i>SD</i>)].</p
Background Scotland needs to tackle its drinking problem. Excessive alcohol consumption places a ... more Background Scotland needs to tackle its drinking problem. Excessive alcohol consumption places a significant burden on Scottish society (Scottish Government, 2010): alcohol-related deaths have risen over 100% since 1990 (Scottish Government, 2009) and 45% of prisoners admitted to being drunk at the time of their offence (SPS, 2007). Recently, the use of transdermal alcohol monitoring anklets in the USA successfully reduced alcohol consumption among those convicted of DUI (AMS, 2012). However, there is little robust research examining how this technology curbs drinking, or the experience of wearing an anklet. Methods A mixed-methods experimental approach was employed to investigate patterns of alcohol consumption and experiences of monitoring over a 2-week period. Data collection methods included: transdermal alcohol monitoring, questionnaires, reflective diaries, and focus groups. A convenience sample of 60 Scottish university students self-identifying as heavy drinkers was randomly...
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